Does Past relate to Present Time?

 
Day 3
Session 8

 
    We had our coffee break and then continued. Stanley consulted his watch so that he could begin at precisely 11.30 a.m. Then he gave a bow and Ti Ming arrived.

‘Greetings ladies. The next workshop is entitled, Does Past relate to Present Time, so what do you think, does it?

’Yes,’ I answered without hesitation.

‘No,’ Betty was equally as assured.

‘Here we go again,’ I laughed, and wrote down the title and stared at it for inspiration, willing it to give up its secrets.

Does Past relate to Present Time?

‘I’m not sure,’ I frowned and shrugged, ‘maybe.’

‘So,’ Ti Ming bowed to us, his hands together in front of his chest, ‘we have a yes, a no and a maybe. That about covers it I should think. And so ladies, which do we think is right? Abby, you said yes, maybe, so tell us please why you think it does.’

‘Well, because we learn from our experiences. If the past didn’t relate to the present then we’d have no way of knowing whether something works, or doesn’t work for us.’

‘It is a good point, but Betty, you said no, so perhaps you could explain to Abby why you think the past does not relate to the present time. What would happen to our learning experiences?’

‘You integrate them as you go. You don’t carry stuff forward, because otherwise you are living in resentment or stuck in the past. You can’t live your life based on what has happened before, because each situation is different.’

‘Yes but,’ I interrupted, ‘what about situations that keep repeating themselves until you learn the lesson?’

‘Each situation is different,’ she insisted.

I didn’t agree. ‘What about Groundhog Day?’

‘That’s just a film,’ Betty objected.

‘Yes I know, but it demonstrates the principle. It shows the same situation repeating over and over again.’

‘But his reactions weren’t the same were they? Each time the day repeated, he learned a new way of reacting.’

‘But that’s just the point,’ I argued, ‘if he hadn’t remembered that it had happened before, which was the past as far as he was concerned, he wouldn’t have been able to do something different would he? If we don’t take past experiences into account we might just keep making the same mistakes over and over.’

‘Situations do come round again, but they are similar, not the same, remember the saying, you can’t step on the same piece of river twice.’

‘But what about déjà vu?’ I insisted. ‘That’s an experience that repeats itself.’

‘Déjà vu is not the same thing,’ Betty contradicted.

‘Thank you ladies,’ Ti Ming interrupted, walking forward and gently banging the table in front of us with his hand. We looked up at him in surprise. We had almost forgotten he was there, we were so involved in our discussion.

He stood back and took up his usual position in front of us.

‘Now let me summarise. So you Abby think that by studying the past we can solve the problems of the present?’

‘Yes.’ I gave an emphatic nod. ‘If mankind had to learn by trial and error each time humanity would never progress, we’d keep reinventing the wheel and having to start from scratch every time in science, mathematics and technology – we’d still be living in the Dark Ages.’

‘Ah but do we progress?’ Betty was on my case again. ‘Surely that’s just the point? Progress can only be made in the present moment. This day is a new day, it’s not a repeat of yesterday. If we think that it is we will just keep making the same mistakes as yesterday. If mankind had to learn by past mistakes humanity would never progress.’

‘Ah very interesting,’ Stanley smiled happily. ‘You both make opposite points but arrive at the same conclusions.’

‘So tell us,’ I demanded in exasperation, ‘what is the right answer?’

‘Oh, the right answer. Well let us consider. Would you all agree that everything in life has been created by us as a learning experience?’ he checked our faces which nodded our agreement.

‘OK Good. So let us continue then. Do you also agree that if we are not open to see and understand what the situation has to teach us then similar events will keep repeating in our lives?’

(The same point is made today by the self development gurus who tell us, ‘if you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you’ve always had).

We nodded once more our silent agreement, waiting to hear what he would say and reluctant to interrupt him.

‘So we need therefore to remain alert in each moment in order to recognise the learning experience that we have created for ourselves. If we merely consider life to be a repeat of the past we will bind ourselves in beliefs that are out of date and no longer serve us, but merely serve to date us.’

We groaned as he laughed, amused by his own joke.

I wrote:

If we consider life to be a repeat
of the past we will bind ourselves
in beliefs that are out of date

 
    He continued, serious once more.

‘Although it is reasonable to learn from our mistakes and events that occurred in the past, it is essential to understand that whilst we may recognise the similarities in the present, we remain open to the differences also, otherwise we will be making the mistake that history repeats itself. What we believed in the past may have been relevant at that time, but we should allow the relevance of the present to present itself to us afresh in each situation.’

I was busily writing down his remarks as he spoke. He waited for me to catch up.

‘So you’re saying that the past does not relate to present time?’ I clarified.

Past does not relate to present time

‘I am saying that to consider the past as relating to present time will involve you in certain consequences. Can either of you tell me what these might be?’

‘We might miss the learning experience,’ Betty contributed.

He nodded. ‘That is correct. Why might we?’

Betty considered a moment before she answered.

‘Because the way we used to look at things won’t be relevant for what’s happening now.’

‘So you’re saying it’s no longer relevant?’

‘Yes,’ she agreed.

Stanley indicated for me to write, and watched while I wrote:

(a) No longer relevant

‘The past can certainly influence us in the present, either unconsciously or consciously, but a relationship implies a two way flow, and the present cannot change what is already past, so if we allow the past to change the present, then we have lost the art of being here and now. What else?’ he asked. ‘Why is it no longer relevant?’

‘Because we’ve moved on,’ Betty replied.